P.E.I. child-care workers face uncertainty after change to immigration program
‘We are really stressed all the time in the daycare,’ says Menindergit Singh
Some child-care workers on P.E.I. are worried about a recent change to one of P.E.I.'s immigration programs, which has left them uncertain about their future in Canada.
Menindergit Singh moved from India to Canada more than five years ago and has been working at Little Ducklings Childcare Centre in Stratford for over a year. He wants to become a permanent resident.
But in January, the federal government announced it would reduce the cap on the number of people P.E.I. can nominate for permanent residency this year by half, down to 1,025.
Then P.E.I. changed the criteria for one of its programs, the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), limiting new applications to those working in health care, construction and manufacturing. The program had previously accepted applications from the child-care sector.
The change leaves one fewer pathway to permanent residency for workers like Singh, who said he's unsure if he'll be able to stay in the province once his visa expires in three months.
"It's not only me," Singh told CBC News. He is one of 18 staff members at the child-care centre facing the same challenge.
Child-care workers prioritized through another stream
A year ago, the P.E.I. government announced it was voluntarily lowering its nominations by 25 per cent for 2024, to about 1,600, in an effort to slow population growth and give housing and health-care services a chance to catch up.
The federal government announcement in January reduces that level even further for 2025.
Although early childhood educators are no longer accepted under the AIP, the province says they remain a priority through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
Here's how that works: Eligible workers can create a profile in the province's candidate pool, where they are awarded points based on factors such as age, language skills and work experience.
The P.E.I. Office of Immigration conducts regular draws from that pool, inviting selected candidates to apply for provincial nomination. If successful, applicants eventually receive a nomination, which helps them gain permanent residency.
However, Singh said there's still too much uncertainty surrounding the PNP process.
"We are really stressed all the time in the daycare. So we … cannot give our 100 per cent because we don't know what [the] next draw will be," he said.
Parents, daycare owners pushing for change
It's not just workers who are concerned. Some child-care centres and parents have started a letter-writing campaign to the province, urging officials to reverse the change made in January.
Nicole Ford, owner of Little Ducklings Childcare Centre, said she is extremely worried about what these immigration challenges could mean for children and families.
She said there are more than 400 children on the waiting list for her centre alone. With only a limited number of graduates from local early childhood education programs each year, it has already been difficult to find enough workers.
"It's essential that they stay and educate and care for the children. They've already built their relationships, they've already been here for a few years… they have relationships with the children, families, they know what they're doing. The only people losing are Islanders and children in this scenario," Ford said.
Singh said he may have just a few more months to work with the children he has grown to care about.
"I have only three months to find some other ways to stay here or go back home," he said.
With files from Stacy Janzer